Game of Thrones campaign brings home gold, silver and bronze awards

Brian Twomey, Elmagh Killeen and Mark Henry, of Tourism Ireland, with some of the 20+ awards for the Game of Thrones campaign

Published:16:16Friday 23 December 2016

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December 23 – Tourism Ireland has scooped more than 20 awards and accolades for its 2016 Game of Thrones campaign.

Earlier this month, the campaign was selected by Campaign magazine as the UK’s number 1 outdoor campaign of 2016.

And last month, at The Drum’s Creative Out of Home Awards, in London, Tourism Ireland took the Chairman’s Award, as well as the ‘Best Use of Illustration/Animation’ and ‘Best Experiential/Ambient’ awards.

This spring, Tourism Ireland joined forces once again with HBO, to promote Northern Ireland around the world, capitalising on the huge success of Game of Thrones.

An exciting feature of the campaign was a series of 10 intricately carved doors, depicting moments inspired by this season, the ‘Doors of Thrones’.

They were unveiled week by week as season six unfolded – referencing key scenes and events and incorporating some of the iconic symbols of the show.

The doors were carved from the trees blown down last winter in Storm Gertrude at the Dark Hedges in Co Antrim – which serves as the backdrop for the Kingsroad, perhaps the most iconic location here.

The campaign has reached an estimated 61 million people around the world, with a series of short films being viewed 17 million times – generating coverage worth about £11.3 million.

The campaign has not gone unnoticed by the marketing and advertising industry, racking up over 20 awards and accolades across Europe.

“We are delighted that our ‘Doors of Thrones’ campaign has received this level of industry recognition,” said Tourism Ireland’s Brian Twomey.

“We were really pleased to continue our partnership with HBO in 2016, to highlight Northern Ireland and its beautiful landscape – through the exciting events of Game of Thrones – on the global stage. Our aim was to reach out to the show’s global fanbase, spiking their curiosity about the landscapes and locations featured in the series and inspiring them to come and explore them for themselves. We are constantly looking at innovative and engaging ways of reaching potential holidaymakers for Northern Ireland, so we are particularly honoured to receive all of these awards.”